Azure Network Watcher vs Observer GigaStor comparison

Microsoft and Viavi Solutions are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #47 with an average rating of 8.3, while Viavi Solutions is ranked #94. Microsoft holds a 0.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Viavi Solutions’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Viavi Solutions users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 12 Azure Network Watcher reviews

670 Views
630 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Observer GigaStor

Read 7 Observer GigaStor reviews

624 Views
300 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Observer GigaStor

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Observer GigaStor and Azure Network Watcher compete in the network monitoring solutions category. Azure Network Watcher holds the upper hand due to its integration within the Azure ecosystem, offering real-time diagnostics for cloud-centric businesses.

Features: Observer GigaStor provides exhaustive data retention, detailed packet analysis, and robust troubleshooting. Azure Network Watcher offers seamless Azure service integration, real-time diagnostics, and network performance monitoring.

Room for Improvement: Observer GigaStor can enhance its ease of deployment, support cloud integration, and improve user interface design. Azure Network Watcher could benefit from more personalized support, expanded third-party integrations, and enhanced packet-level visibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Observer GigaStor requires specialized hardware for on-premise deployment but offers reliable support. Azure Network Watcher features a streamlined cloud deployment model, though its customer service sometimes lacks personalization.

Pricing and ROI: Observer GigaStor involves substantial initial investment due to hardware needs, providing significant analytics returns. Azure Network Watcher, with its flexible subscription model, is cost-effective for cloud monitoring, potentially offering superior ROI in cloud-centric environments.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. Observer GigaStor Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Observer GigaStor

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

47th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Observer GigaStor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

94th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (14th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Observer GigaStor is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure Network Watcher	0.4%
Observer GigaStor	0.2%
Other	99.4%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at Capgemini

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

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Jeroen-Dubbelman

Director at Bitrate

Aids significantly in the threat-hunting process and provides a score-based evaluation of user experience

There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies. The retrospective network analysis capability of Observer GigaStor has been beneficial. It's a pivotal feature for network performance solutions. However, I prefer to consider the entire solution suite - GigaStor, along with GigaFlow and Apex - for comprehensive network visibility and monitoring. So, I prefer to integrate all three solutions to provide the best visibility. They complement each other well, with Apex aggregating and correlating data from both GigaStor and GigaFlow to enhance environmental understanding and troubleshooting efficiency.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."

"It provides good visibility."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is using the gateways with the connections. The monitoring is useful for the logs and application insights into the data. The traffic filtering issues when it comes to deploying those applications are helpful."

"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall. It is helpful for securing databases."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"I also have the ability to see an application's performance, to see what's going on, why a network is slow, why this program for this user is experiencing a delay or some network issue"

"There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies."

"It can help to write your rules, organize firewalls, your block, and also your protocols and IP address to come in or out of your network."

"This solution allows us to see exactly what is going on in the network and we can very quickly solve issues with users."

"The ability to capture packets. It is not only for monitoring. That is very important for a company that wants to keep an eye on the packets, the transactions, the flows..."

"It's able to capture packets and, after a long time, you can come and use that information; to check, to analyze - everything you would want to do. So it's very good and helpful if you want to protect your data. It is stored in a certain place where you can access it every time you want to analyze it."

Cons

"The solution could improve by limiting the need to clarify the logs. When the clarification is minimized, it is better for everyone involved."

"I would like to see in the future if we can troubleshoot as a firewall because it is equipment as a network player and some diagnostics."

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."

"User experience could be improved."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications. For example, an application to log activities for in and outbound traffic."

"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"Graphics need improvement. Because a lot of the information there you have to input first in some case to have full potential. It could be more automated."

"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."

"GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities could enhance its functionality."

"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily. It's already good, but they can work more on it to make it even easier."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"It depends on the requirements you have. There are three types of license. There's the updates license, the work group license, and the workstation license."

"It's quite expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

University

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Network Watcher?

I like the visibility.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is affordable from the perspective of basic costing. It doesn't cost too much at this point unless you are requesting customizable detailed matrices. For the default configura...

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What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

See all answers

What do you like most about Observer GigaStor?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Observer GigaStor?

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten. It's quite expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Observer GigaStor?

GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities coul...

See all answers

Comparisons

ThousandEyes vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 31% of the time

Microsoft Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 25% of the time

Nmap vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 24% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 20% of the time

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Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 27% of the time

Wireshark vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 19% of the time

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 16% of the time

AppNeta by Broadcom vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiSIEM vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 13% of the time

More Observer GigaStor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

October 2025

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Buyer's Guide

Observer GigaStor

September 2025

Download Observer GigaStor product report

Overview

Azure Network Watcher is a comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic service offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a range of tools and capabilities to help users monitor, diagnose, and gain insights into their Azure network infrastructure. With Network Watcher, users can capture and analyze network traffic, monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and gain visibility into network topology. It also offers features like packet capture, flow logs, connection monitoring, and VPN diagnostics to ensure the smooth operation of Azure networks. Network Watcher enables users to proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize network performance, and enhance the overall reliability and security of their Azure network environment.

Microsoft

Observer GigaStor is a network analysis tool that comes in a variety of form factors, including rack mount, portable, and virtual. Capable of storing up to a petabyte of traffic for later analysis, GigaStor helps ensure optimal network and application performance.

Viavi Solutions

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Cisco Systems, Hawaiian Telecom, Renown Health, State of Nevada, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Allstate Insurance, Jack Henry & Associates, United States Airforce, US Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Chicago Board Options Exchange

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Observer GigaStor

September 2025

Free Report: Azure Network Watcher vs. Observer GigaStor

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Network Watcher vs. Observer GigaStor and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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